the MSB Premier, as far as i know, cannot do streaming by itself. but i do believe it can be spec’d with a high quality volume control. you will need a CPU of some sort as a Roon end point.
What do you mean here? The Premier takes the same digital input modules as the Reference, Select and even the entry level Discrete. Including the latest Ethernet Renderer V2. I have a Premier and I have the Ethernet Renderer in it and it works great with Roon.
I have by luck engaged with a new dealer who can source Merging Audio products - Merging+Player+Power. Which is essentially a 2 box DAC/Streamer/preamp with an outboard power supply. Anyone have any knowledge about Merging Audio ?
RFC the T+A products are generally available all over the world they may not have a proper distributor in your country but you may be able to get a sample sent to you.
In terms of that rhythmic punchy quality nothing sounds like a Naim, you can dramatically increase a system's punch by using Critical Mass footers which are amazing.
Have you considered perhaps upgrading the Naim gear? Also if you are using Naim interconnects they are not very good.
Custom Din cables can be sourced from better companies. Dave and TroyAudio Doctor NJ Naim, T+A, Critical Mass, ATC dealers
I haven’t received the Bartok I have ordered but it’s received universal high praise in all the audio journals. From what I gather it’s darn near a Rossini but lacking the more sophisticated power supply. I would love to hear of a blind test comparing the two units without external clocks. 10k price difference. FWIW
I think dcs Bartok offers ridiculously good value in the crowded price bracket it’s situated itself in. If I had the good fortune to be considering a dac, I would also be considering the aforementioned Bricasti dac as well perhaps the Berkeley Audio Alpha Series 3.
Have you seen the Stereophile review for the Bartok? The measurements for the thing are amazing
I have ATC SCM 20ASL speakers which are extremely revealing and I use them with my JL Audio dual F112v2 subs through a JL Audio CR1 crossover.
First I had a Naim Nova which sounded very good, and I listen to probably 80% rock from mainly the 70's and 80's but also love stuff like Kraftwerk to Yellowman and just recently started getting into Classical.
Naim has a great in-house sound (PRAT) signature especially for rock, but I knew I could do better, like you the Bartok piqued my interest, so I arranged a home demo, sounded great and decent incremental improvement over the Naim, but in my opinion for two and a half times the price of the Nova it was not a real contender, then luckily one day on one of my frequent visits to my local dealer I got a deal I could not refuse on a rather special Streamer/Dac/Pre-amp, and for not a great deal more than the Bartok.
Said Streamer/Dac/Pre-amp promptly taken home for a demo, quickly hooked up in my system, and I knew absolutely straight away I had something special, just everything I had been searching for in so long.
Product being the T+A SDV 3100 HV, at the same time I bought a Sablon Audio RJ45 ethernet cable which for the price as to be one of the best purchases I have made, everything just fell into place, next and last on my list to buy is the EtherRegen.
Hope this helps.
Good luck and hope you find audio nirvana like I did after a long and sometimes frustrating time.
After a long time of reflection I think the MSB Premier is what I need.
By all accounts the way it connects directly to a power amp and bypass the need for a preamp is second to none.
My only concern is I have like 80% rock, pop, blues in my collection. I really do like the way Naim plays rock music in a propulsive way. Does MSB have that similar propulsive way with rock ?
I had the dCS Bartok home for a demo. Loved how it sounded, easily beat my Naim NDS into my Naim 252 preamp.
Not so sure about direct into my ATC 40A active speakers. It was good, really good. I needed more time to play with the Bartok settings to find a correct balance. Looks like I will make to change to the Bartok, if need be, I will add a preamp latter.
This could be more like R2R Multibit vs Delta Sigma, as the RingDac in the DCS is said to be very much like delta sigma but for a couple of bits of R2R thrown in, much like the Hybrid "advance segment" chips Texas(BB) has out for a while now PCM179** series, as they are the differences you’ll be hearing, as both will have excellent output stages, jitter figures ect ect
BTW My money's on the MSB for the best PCM Redbook 16/44/24/96 or DXD reproduction, but if your doing DSD then you should A/B the two, as some of the Discrete R2R dacs are said to be converting DSD very good also.
+1, @tomic601, I agree the Bricasti DAC should be on your list.
My Bricasti M21 DAC is in my main audio system and it is truly outstanding. It offers both a sigma delta conversion and a ladder DAC. I switched back and forth and decided the ladder DAC sounds the best. I previously owned the Bricasti M1SE DAC and the M21 DAC sounds much better. I was very impressed. My source is the Aurender N10 Music Server.
The reason for these 2 are: 1. both can be used to stream from an existing server setup I have. 2. both have preamp/volume control function. 3. legendary upgrade support from both companies. 4. both support XLR analog out (need that for my ATC active - only has Balanced XLR in). 5. both are supposed to be superb units - near the top for DAC sound quality.
However, the Naim 252 preamp. I have is excellent and I am not 100% sure “all in one” for DAC/streamer/preamp. has got there yet for total sound quality. Except perhaps for the extreme high end units from these 2 companies and a few others for several thousand $$$$ more than even these expensive units, then by all accounts they seem to not need an external preamp. at all.
I assume it is to downsize to a “one box” solution. Then use this for preamp. duties as well. Both are great devices & no wrong choice with either. Though I suspect the MSB “may” have a better integrated volume control.
a fundamental difference between the MSB approach and the dCS approach is bit perfect verses up-sampling. my opinion is that bit perfect is the way things are going and that it allows you to get the best possible performance from the recording’s native resolution. of course, it’s not really quite that simple......but to my ears it does make a fundamental difference (less digital signature) and has musical consequences.
the MSB Premier, as far as i know, cannot do streaming by itself. but i do believe it can be spec'd with a high quality volume control. you will need a CPU of some sort as a Roon end point. but honestly i’ve not done any extensive MSB listening beyond the Select II in my own system.
i would recommend trying to demo both units. if you ever get to the Seattle are you are welcome to demo my MSB for whatever that is worth. i love my Select II.
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